I am a lecturer in archaeology, specialising in the archaeology of medieval Britain and the analysis of ceramics. My research seeks to use material culture to understand how people coped with and experienced change, and how the roots of contemporary society are planted in the medieval period. For example, my research into diet examines how communities adapted to social and political change in the early medieval period and my analysis of medieval rural material culture considers how the development of commercial attitudes can be seen in the archaeological record. My work also applies archaeological theory (particularly ‘non-representational’ theories such as Assemblage Theory and Actor-Network Theory) to important archaeological questions. I also examine the relationship between historical text and the archaeological record. I am currently co-Editor of the journal Medieval Ceramics.

Currently I am researching 3 core areas; the material culture of medieval rural households (as co-investigator with Dr Chris Briggs, Cambridge University on the project Living Standards and Material Culture in English Rural Households 1300-1600), the impact of the Norman Conquest of England on dietary practice (with Dr Richard Madgwick, Cardiff University and Dr Elizabeth Craig-Atkins, University of Sheffield) and the archaeology of early and later medieval urbanism. I am also actively engaged in the study of medieval pottery, with a particular emphasis on questions of trade and consumption.

2015: Trade, Towns and Consumption in Medieval Southern England: An archaeological perspective. Wessex Centre for History and Archaeology day conference, Salisbury Museum (invited by Dr Ryan Lavelle, University of Winchester).

2012: Objects as Agents of Social Change: A case-study from Anglo-Norman Southampton. Archaeology after interpretation workshop, Burford, Oxfordshire (invited by Dr Andrew M Jones, University of Southampton).

I would also be interested to hear from potential postgraduate students looking to develop research projects in the following areas:

Medieval material culture (particularly pottery)

The archaeology of the Norman Conquest

Medieval urbanism

The archaeology of medieval southern England

I am currently supervising 4 Postgraduate Research Students:

Lisa Backhouse (SWW DTP student, co-supervised with Dr Gabor Thomas, Reading and Duncan Brown, Historic England): Changing Social Relations and the Making of an Early Medieval Kingdom: People and Pottery in Anglo-Saxon Kent AD 450-850

Research Projects & Interests

Living Standards and Material Culture in English Rural Households 1300-1600

The project (undertaken in collaboration with Dr Chris Briggs, University of Cambridge and funded by a grant from the Leverhule Trust), seeks to understand the consumption patterns of medieval rural communities. How did these differ from those of urban communities? How did they change through time? What was the role of everyday objects in the negotiation of social identity? The project seeks to address these questions through the integrated analysis of escheators inventories found in manorial records and material culture excavated from medieval rural sites. A pilot project was funded by the Newton Trust and the Economic History Society.

Dietary Change and The Norman Conquest

I have a long running interest in the impact of the Norman Conquest on everyday life. This began during my PhD where I analysed cooking practices in early medieval Southampton by examining use wear on pottery. I have recently collaborated with Dr Alex Livarda (Nottingham) and Dr Fiona Whelan (Oxford) to review the archaeological and historical evidence relating to the impact of conquest on diet. I am currently working with Dr Richard Madgwick (Cardiff) and Dr Elizabeth Craig-Atkins (Sheffield) on a project exploring the impact of diet using a variety of scientific techniques. Funded by the Society of Antiquaries, The Royal Archaeological Institute, The Society for Medieval Archaeology and Cardiff University.

Related publications:

Jervis, B., Livarda, A. and Whelan, F. 2017, 'Conquest and cuisine: Interdisciplinary perspectives on food, continuity and change in 11th century England and beyond', in C. Dyer and D. Hadley (eds), The Archaeology of the 11th Century, Routledge.

Urban Fortunes in Medieval England

This project seeks to understand the extent to which medieval towns suffered decline in the later middle ages. This work addresses a long running historical debate using archaeolgoical evidence from southern England. By reviewing the evidence from archaeological excavations I am assessing the extent to which towns appear to have declined and also seeking to understand the factors which impact upon urban fortunes.

Related publications:

Jervis, B. 2016. Decline or Transformation? Archaeology and the Late Medieval ‘Urban Decline’ in Southern England. The Archaeological Journal 174.

Anglo-Saxon Pottery in Southern England

This has been a key research area since my undergraduate research into the Anglo-Saxon pottery from Bishopstone in Sussex. My MA dissertation examined pottery production in the late Saxon town of Chichester and during my PhD I worked on material from Southampton and its region. Through my involvement in the Lyminge Archaeology Project, directed by Dr Gabor Thomas (Reading) my interests have examined into Kent. Recently I have collaborated with colelagues working in commercial archaeological units in the region to assess the current state of knowledge and highlight areas for future research and have also considered the relationship between imported pottery and identity in early Anglo-Saxon Kent.

Archaeology and Text

An emerging area in my research is the understanding of the relationship between archaeological material culture and text. My work on medieval inventories and medieval guild rules seeks to view documents as a form of active material culture and to examine the social implications of the action of writing things down.

Conferences and Sessions Organised

TAG 2017: Cardiff University are hosting the TAG conference from 18th-20th December 2017.

Space The Final (Archaeological) Frontier? Session at Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) Conference, December 2015 (With Benjamin Morton, University of Newcastle).

Border Cultures: Pottery and the Social Dynamics of Border Regions in Medieval Europe. Session at the European Association of Archaeologists Coference, Glasgow, September 2015 (With Jette Linnaa, Moesgaard Museum).

ANT(ics): Objects and the Thingliness of Things. Actor-Network Theory and other Relational Approaches in Archaeology. Session at TAG, December 2013 (With Prof Harold Mytum, University of Liverpool).

ANT(ics): Objects and the Thingliness of Things. International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 2013. (With Helen Price, Department of English, University of Leeds).

Actor-Network Theory and other Relational Approaches in Historical Archaeology. Society for Historical Archaeology Conference, University of Leicester, January 2013. (With Prof Harold Mytum, University of Liverpool).

The Archaeology of Rules. Session atTAG, University of Liverpool, December 2012. (With Eleanor Williams, University of Southampton; Ruth Nugent, University of Chester and Dr Barbara Hausmair, University of Vienna).

Insights Through Innovation. The Southampton Ceramics Research Group Conference. University of Southampton, October 2012. (With Emilie Sibbesson and Sarah Coxon).

Life in the City: Environmental and Artefactual Approaches to Urban Europe in the Middle Ages.European Association of Archaeologists Conference/Medieval Europe Congress, Helsinki, August 2012. (With Lee Broderick, University of York and Idoia Grau Sologestoa, Universidad del País Vasco).

Death Rules! Maintaining and Transgressing Funerary Rules Across Medieval Europe. International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 2012. (With Eleanor Williams, University of Southampton; Ruth Nugent, University of Chester and Barbara Hausmair, University of Vienna).

The Tenth Postgraduate Archaeology Students Symposium (PGRAS10). University of Southampton, June 2011 (on organising committee).

Make-do and Mend. Archaeologies of Compromise? Session at TAG, Bristol University, December 2010. (With Alison Kyle, University of Glasgow).

Mad About Pots seminar series. University of Southampton, October 2010-January 2011.